Loomis, I understand all that. Or most of it. My point is that it won't be worth the high cost for Innova (or someone else in the sport) to front that kind of money---especially for a national network. Certainly, it would come down to advertising for non-disc-golf-related products. But it would be an extremely hard sell to convince a network that they'll get viewership numbers they can sell to advertisers---or that broadcasting something else, almost anything else, won't generate better ratings and more ad revenue.

For me, the Media part is maybe the most interesting topic. Like all the six elements, the Media should have its own article. Generally, the main media is professional. Challenge is that we are competing with so many other news and happenings that cracking the surface is really hard. Disc Golf being side by side with major sports on ESPN news might never happen. Instead of banging our head to the wall of main media we need to be creative. We need to create our own media that will reach our viewers and listeners with our ways. We have few Disc Golf medias like Disc Golf Planet and SpinTV. Still, not too many are working professionally in Disc Golf media.

As much as I like the notion of creating a new media to cover the sport, that really won't make much of a difference. There still needs to be a story to tell. Innovation in media coverage has always been at the forefront of media production houses and they are always trying to find new ways to improve their broadcast. Long before Google glass (which is an interesting option for disc golf) there was a production house in Portland, OR that tried to use cameras mounted to glasses to cover the flight of golf balls during PGA events. I'm sure many Hockey fans remember the year when the "glowing puck" made it's presence felt during TV broadcasts. So there is always someone out there trying to find a way to make a sport more presentable but in the end, the trick to making a sport more engaging and broadcast worthy is "HOW DO YOU CREATE A COMPELLING NARRATIVE WORTH WATCHING?" That's it. You gotta make the sport worth watching. And it's not Disc Golf's fault. It can be engaging and interesting. USDGC last year was a great feel good story that was all but lost because it wasn't well presented. And I don't blame DiscGolf Planet. They're trying. I get the feeling they're hamstringed by something which I can't put my finger on.

BUT the USDGC ended with a new, well-loved, very deserving, well-seasoned champion but the coverage ended on a whimper. I stood right there next to Brinster and watched his moment. This is one of the biggest moments in disc golf and it ended without climax. And there was all sorts of drama in those final holes. For a moment, right after he made the putt, Brinster didn't know what to do with himself. He stood there for a long time before someone actually came up to him to celebrate his win. It was a great story.

Jussi, at last year's European Open, was all over the production value of the event. It was done very, very well and had very few shortcomings. The main issue there was timing but Jussi took great care to make sure there was a schedule and he made sure the lead cards didn't get ahead of the broadcast. It was on LIVE TV and coverage had to be split up between cards and this meant holding a card on a teebox for twenty minutes so the TV coverage could pick up and cover the other cards. When they finished the lead card could go. That's responsible production quality. And the talking heads were not two disc golfers who were scrambling to fill the broadcast. There was drama and for those who spoke Finnish and could follow the event, they ate it up. It was slick to watch. The Central Coast Disc Golf guys do a great job with their American play-by-play and it's one of my favorite online videos to watch.

I have worked with more film and TV directors who have moonlighted as directors for live sporting events and you can tell the difference between their work and that of others. When the sport tries to control the presentation of its sport, it's first thought isn't the narrative of the event, but rather to protect itself. We have seen this in the past in horse racing, boxing and cycling (mostly sports where doping or mob involvement is common). At present, only a disc golf magazine - and the competitors themselves with twitter, blogs, or various individual websites - have tried to control the narrative and it usually lacks any interest. And trust me, there is a TON of people who eat up anything disc golf and want more, more, more. There is never enough disc golf information. There is certainly not enough to feed the need. I think the NON-STOP DISC GOLF tour had some drama that could have made for good press but it was never released widely and it ended as usual... with a whimper. Another moment lost.

Presently disc golfer magazine is the only magazine covering the sport (until Hucker gets their **** together) and that is run by the PDGA. I have heard a lot of criticism about the magazine from everyone, including previous editors, the people I interview, readers and people who just dislike me in general. And to all of them I always say the same thing: It's a newsletter. People work hard on it but they are limits to what Disc Golfer can publish.

You have to allow a story-teller to control the narrative and then the sport becomes compelling and engaging.